Zenith El Primero Range Rover Special Edition

In 1969, Swiss luxury watch Manufacture Zenith unveiled its fabled El Primero chronograph. That same year, British car manufacturer Land Rover introduced the prototype of the very first luxury off-road vehicle: the iconic Range Rover. Fired by the same pioneering spirit and the same ability to explore new horizons, these two original creations achieved legendary status.

This year Zenith and Land Rover are uniting in a partnership to celebrate two legendary creations that have made an indelible imprint on watch-making and automotive history. To celebrate this partnership, Zenith is presenting a first exclusive El Primero Range Rover Special Edition.

Zenith and Land Rover are natural frontrunners. Since 1969, which witnessed milestone launches by both companies, their destinies have been entwined. That was the year the Swiss Manufacture presented the famous El Primero chronograph movement, the most accurate in the world; and the British carmaker Land Rover unleashed the first luxury four-wheel drive, the iconic Range Rover.

Three years later, the two adventurers crossed paths when explorer John Blashford-Snell crossed the Darién Gap – an inhospitable marshland and virgin forest area on the border between Colombia and Panama – at the wheel of an early Range Rover and with an El Primero chronograph on his wrist. During this Trans-Americas expedition, both models demonstrated their extreme manoeuvrability, their durability and their exceptional all-terrain capabilities.

Founded by Rover and owned by Tata Motors since 2008, Land Rover is a British car manufacturer specialising in sports utility and all-terrain vehicles. Initially known for its 4×4 expertise, this pioneer has been making robustly built cars capable of performing in the harshest environments since 1948. In 1969, the British brand changed the course of history by producing an all-terrain vehicle of an entirely new genre: the luxurious and intrepid Range Rover. Equipped with a permanent four-wheel drive system, coil springs and a 3.5 L V8 petrol engine, the world’s first luxury 4×4 boasted incomparable on- and off-road performance. In addition, its pragmatic design earned immediate and widespread acclaim.

An iconic silhouette, charisma, technical refinement and remarkable performance: in addition to their birth year (1969), the iconic El Primero and Range Rover share a number of other key assets. To celebrate their partnership, Manufacture Zenith is unveiling an El Primero Range Rover special edition.

In tribute to the first luxury SUV, its brushed grey dial bears the inscription “Zenith Range Rover”. The hands and hour-markers are rhodiumed and luminescent. Beating at the dynamic pace of a legendary movement, the El Primero Range Rover chronograph features a streamlined, subtly curved and inimitable design. Its high-frequency mechanism is clothed in the aluminium ‘bodywork’ – a nod to the Range Rover chassis – of its 42 mm-diameter matt black ceramised case.

Water-resistant to 100 metres and topped by a cambered sapphire crystal, it is equipped with a ratcheted crown and black round pushers. The sapphire case-back bearing the “El Primero Range Rover/ Special Edition” engraving reveals an oscillating weight personalised with the Zenith and Range Rover logos.

Mechanical engine of this special Range Rover edition is the automatic El Primero 400B movement. With its fast-paced beat of 36,000 vibrations per hour enabling it to power a tenth of a second display, and its integrated column-wheel construction, this El Primero ‘engine’ is a worthy heir to the world’s most accurate series-made chronograph developed by Zenith in 1969. This 326-part movement drives central hours and minutes hands, along with chronograph and tachymeter functions, while ensuring an over50-hour power reserve.

The El Primero Range Rover Special Edition is secured by rubber strap coated with ivory-toned perforated calfskin or blue perforated calfskin, secured by a triple folding clasp in DLC-treated titanium.